Vallejo artists, residents pool ideas to improve downtown

Downtown artists, merchants and residents get together in brainstorming session groups during Saturday night's gathering at The Hub on Georgia Street, entitled 'Art and the Downtown Core,' to find ideas to further develop downtown Vallejo and establish contacts.
(Mike Jory/Times-Herald)

The Hub in downtown Vallejo was bustling with ideas Saturday night as about 100 people gathered to create an arts organization,

"We already have wonderful things going on in the downtown area," organizer and artist Erin Bakke said. "But a lot of those things are individual efforts. We are not talking to each other."

Bakke said the organization -- tentatively named Art Connector Vallejo -- will unite artists, merchants, community organizations and the city of Vallejo for the benefit of downtown Vallejo.

"We have a beautiful downtown ... we just want to keep the sense of community going," Bakke said.

The meeting was also attended by city representatives, including Councilwoman Katy Meissner and Planning Manager Andrea Ouse.

"This is a great opportunity to gain some insight to the future of downtown," Ouse said.

A website, still in development, was also introduced. ArtVallejo.org aims to become a network for the public to share resources that will benefit downtown, Bakke said. It will include listings of events in Vallejo, restaurant reviews and gallery profiles, she said.

"We hope this really helps change the perception of downtown as a dangerous place," Bakke said. "... it's an outdated view of downtown."

After a brief presentation of the website and remarks, attendees broke into seven groups to hold brainstorming sessions. They could choose to contribute ideas covering various topics such as community outreach, organization committee, events and scheduling.

"We just really want to bring everyone together with their exciting ideas to create the renaissance of art and entertainment in downtown," said Tom Arie Donch, of Interplay Design Inc.

Anyone interested in participating can contact Bakke at (702) 339-4249.